Jodi Lyn O'Keefe Daily is a fansite dedicated to beautiful and talented actress Jodi Lyn O'Keefe. This is not her official website. All photos, videos and other media files are copyrighted to their rightful owners. No copyright infringement is intended. Please do not take any legal action. Any issues with material please contact me directly to be credited or have the item removed from the site. Removals do require PROOF that you are the original copyright owner of the material. Please email me before taking any legal action.

It’s no surprise that Hit the Floor’s Lionel Davenport is a grade-A villainness: she’s played by Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, who’s best known for portraying some of TV’s toughest ladies. But while her current character is a scheming, ruthless team owner, Jodi happens to be one of the nicest people you could ask for.

Starpulse spoke to her recently to discuss that intriguing contrast, plus what she thinks Lionel ultimately wants out of all her machinations and the favorite roles from her repertoire, which will probably surprise you.

Does Jodi ever wonder why she often gets seen as the tough chick? “I think it’s just the ones that are the most memorable really,” she said. “That’s where I get to have the most fun and those characters stick in people’s minds. I’ve been the good guy a couple times, here and there.

“The other thing is I so enjoy it,” she continued. “It’s so far removed from who I am. I’m so not confrontational and I want to everyone to be happy and I want everyone to be pleasant all the time. When I get to go and do the other thing, I’m so far removed who I am in my everyday life that it’s such a strange pleasure. So whenever those things come up, I’m always the first to say I’d really like to do it!”

When it comes to Lionel and the things that she’s been behind, “It surprises me every single day,” Jodi told us. “The metamorphosis of her from coming in and being Pete’s ex-wife to all of a sudden now she blackmailed the owner of the Devils and she’s the owner. It’s been really fun because every single time I get a script I’m going oh my God, what is she doing this week, oh no. It’s great.”

She clearly has a plan, having worked her way up to the top of the Los Angeles Devils organization, so where is Lionel headed? What would ultimately make her happy?

“Ultimately I think her goal is mostly the same,” Jodi said of where her character is in Season 3. “She’s still doing the wrong thing to get the love of her life back. She keeps making bad decisions about how to win back Pete, and she thinks that being in front of him constantly will do it.

“But she’s also up against the wall,” she added, “because she lost her career that she loved so very much and now she needs something else to do in the world and someone else to beat, so she’s kind of scrambling to find her new identity.

“I think she really enjoys this position of being in power and having one over on people. I think being the boss is something that makes her happy,” she added. “Despite the fact that she’s made some bad decisions about how she handles her whole world, I think she’s going through a little bit of a woman scorned period. It’s good for her to feel in control again.”

Of course Lionel wouldn’t have gotten to where she is today if she hadn’t manipulated the Devils’ previous owner, Oscar Kinkade (Don Stark), creating an unlikely but awesome duo for Hit the Floor fans to enjoy. “He’s so much fun,” Jodi said of working with Don. “He’s so much game for any and all, kind of like I am. He shows up for work like I do. He’s very excited. He’s happy to be there so we have a giggle, we have a really good time and we both really love doing what we do.

“I find that with most of the people I get to work with, I feel like I’ve been very lucky. I come to set and more often than not, people have a coffee in their hand and a smile on their face.”

Where does Lionel rank on the totem pole of bad girls that Jodi has played so far? “She’s up there. I enjoy myself a little too much I think,” she laughed. “My favorite for sure was Gretchen Morgan [from Prison Break]. There’s no realm of possibility where I would physically hurt someone or kill anybody and she’s the most opposite of myself. This woman is a skilled assassin; I do poorly in spin class!”

But while you may know her for breaking hearts and/or heads, she’s actually much more of a diverse actress. Ask her about her favorite roles and she’ll point you towards her work in sitcoms. “One of my favorite people in the world to work with is Chuck Lorre, and he started working with me on Dharma & Greg,” she said.

“That was a dream. I got to be in front of a studio audience, falling on my face and being ridiculous,” she enthused. “Then he brought me back for Two and a Half Men more than once, which was fantastic.”

Whether she’s getting the chance to make people laugh or her characters are laughing in someone else’s face, Jodi always leaves an impression – and that’s what makes her such a joy to watch, even as Lionel continues to leave plenty of chaos in her wake.